DE 101 58 158 A1 discloses a device for use in positioning a rubber blanket on a cylinder of a printing press. At least one stop, that acts in the axial direction of the cylinder, is disposed outside of the cylinder and can be pivoted into an infeed plane for the rubber blanket. This stop is used to feed the rubber blanket to the cylinder precisely positioned in an axial direction. The rubber blanket is pressed against the lateral stop by, for example, the force of a spring.
DE 196 20 997 A1 and EP 0 808 714 A2 disclose devices and methods for axially positioning a printing plate. A lateral stop for a lateral register device, which lateral stop is arranged between a forme cylinder and a printing plate preparation device, can preferably be steplessly positioned in an adjustment area that is oriented parallel to the forme cylinder. A gripper device presses the printing plate, which printing plate is to be fed to the forme cylinder from the printing plate preparation device, against the positioned lateral stop. The position of the lateral stop is preselected such that a printing plate that is guided on this lateral stop can be fed to the forme cylinder in the correct position. Additionally, another lateral stop for the printing plate that is to be fed to the forme cylinder can also be provided on either the forme cylinder or on the printing plate preparation device. Multiple printing plates can be arranged on the forme cylinder, side by side in the forme cylinder axial direction, and another lateral stop on either the forme cylinder or on the printing plate preparation device can be allocated to each of these multiple printing plates.
A method for producing multiple printing plates for printing presses is known from DE 196 09 084 A1. The printing plates are produced especially at least partially in an image generating system. Directional features are cut into each printing plate and are used to align each printing plate as it is installed on the rotary drum of a printing press. In addition to the lateral image on each printing plate, visible markings are applied to the surface of each printing plate. These visible markings can be optically detected and can serve to determine the position of directional cut-outs to be placed in each printing plate. These cut-outs can then be placed in these positions in each printing plate.
A processing device for use in preparing printing plates for offset printing presses via the mechanical processing of the respective printing plate for custom mounting on the respective printing press is known from DE 199 19 263 A1. This mechanical processing, and particularly the punching of centering holes, and also a trimming of the plate size, results in a precisely defined reference to the actual position of the printed image by the use of exposed optical markings in a clearly defined relation based upon the position of a printed image. The markings that are based on the printed image are preferably disposed in the edge area of the printing plate which lies outside of the usable printed image.
From EP 0 678 383 A1 there is known a device for exchanging printing formes on rotary printing presses. A printing forme, that is to be fed to a printing forme cylinder, can be aligned against a lateral stop.